Counting Games with "Seven Steps"

These are two easy an engaging activities that you can do to get your children to recognize numbers and count well, pairing each number with one object. By using props (magnetic wand, coins, straws and paper plates) while singing this song (Seven Steps from Super Simple Learning) they will acquire a better grasp on numbers and quantities because they will be directly involved.

This is how the first activity goes

Ask the children to help you place the numbers in the correct order on the floor. Then, place five rows of magnetic coins: on the first, second, and fifth rows place seven coins, and on the third and fourth place only three. While singing the song, one child at a time gets to collect the coins with the wand while the others are singing. Make sure that the pace is slow enough for counting. For counting backwards, just repeat the entire thing. Once you show the kids how this works, they can play in pairs.

The second activity

You will need some straws or drum sticks and numbered paper plates (I used the same wooden numbers and stuck them with blue-tack). One child gets to hit the plates while the others sing the song. If the children recognize numbers well, you can place the plates in a different order. Also, to make the game more active, spread the plates throughout the room. The kids will have a blast!